SYMPOSIUM ON LATIN AMERICA AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM IN CUBA
The Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciences Sociales (FLACSO), Programa
Cuba is sponsoring an international symposium on Latin America in Havana,
Cuba from June 1 to June 4, 1999. The conference will be preceded by an
educational program developed by the Center for Development Studies (CDS)
in cooperation with FLACSO Cuba. The CDS educational program will be from
May 22 to May 31.
The FLACSO Symposium, "America Latina y Sociedad: retos del tercer
milenio" (Latin America and Society: Challenges of the Third Millennium)
will have paper presentations and roundtables on the following themes:
globalization and economic integration, gender and development, state and
society, popular participation, rural development, environmental policy,
education, and science and technology. Although Spanish will be the
primary language of the symposium, participants can make presentations in
English.
The CDS program has two components. The first component consists of
an eight-day educational experience in Havana, including presentations by
FLACSO faculty as well as experiences in Havana city and province that are
related to the presentations. Themes of the presentations and the
experiences include the project of the Cuban revolution, the political
process in Cuba, rural development, women in Cuba, and the "special
period." This component of the program will be from May 22 to May 31, and
a detailed itinerary of the activities is attached below. The second
component of the CDS program includes reading on Cuban history and the
Cuban electoral system prior to the program, with scheduled electronic
discussion of the reading among group participants. The electronic
discussions of the reading will be held from April 10 to May 15, and a
schedule is attached below.
English will be the language of the CDS program. Many of the
presentations in Cuba will be made in Spanish, but simultaneous
translation into English will be provided. Reflective discourse among
participants in the electronic discussions and during the activities in
Cuba will be in English. Native Spanish speakers are welcome to
participate, if they have a reading knowledge of English and some capacity
to understand spoken English.
HOW TO SIGN UP
Those who wish to participate in the FLACSO Symposium but not in the
CDS educational program should contact FLACSO directly. The Fax number is
011-537-33-5772; the e-mail address is <flacso@comuh.uh.cu>. The Director
of FLACSO is Dra. Elena Diaz. The Center for Development Studies does not
have the resources to assist in obtaining of Cuban visas and U.S. travel
licenses for those who intend to participate only in the FLACSO Symposium.
These persons should inquire with FLACSO in regard to visas, and they can
obtain information in regard to travel licenses by calling the U.S.
Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Licensing
Division at 202-622-2480.
For those who wish to participate in the entire CDS educational
program and FLACSO Symposium, the cost is $1725. This fee includes hotel
lodging for fourteen nights in Cuba, breakfast and dinner every day in
Cuba, ground transportation between airport and hotel and to program
activities, translator services, museum entrance fees, visa from Cuban
government, license to travel to Cuba from U.S. government, and fees to
FLACSO and CDS. The participation fee does not include air travel to and
from Cuba, lunches in Cuba, books, between-meal snacks, and activities
that are not a part of the planned activities of the program.
Participants must make their own arrangements for air travel to Havana.
For U.S. citiznes and residents, arrangements have been made with Marazul
Tours in New York City to assist with booking flights. U.S. persons
wishing assistance in air travel arrangements should contact Marazul Tours
(800-223-5334; 201-319-9670; fax 201-319-9009). Talk to Bob Guild to make
arrangements to fly into Havana from Miami or a third county. Talk to
Ramon Hernandez to make arrangements to fly from your city to Miami or a
city (typically Cancun or Nassau) in a third country.
Those wishing to participate in the CDS-FLACSO package should send
the appropriate information by February 15. The needed information falls
into three categories. (1) Biographical information and other details
are needed for the processing of participants by CDS, FLACSO, the Cuban
office of migration, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Participants should provide: full legal name, position (full title, e.g.,
assistant professor of sociology), institution, work address, home
address, work telephone, home telephone, fax number, e-mail address, place
of birth, date of birth, country of citizenship, and passport information
(country, passport number, date of issue, place of issue, expiration
date). In addition, participants should address the following issues: Do
you have any allergies, special dietary needs, physical challenges, or
emotional challenges of which we should be aware? If yes, please explain.
Explain what background in Spanish or capacity for speaking Spanish you
have. If native Spanish speaker, explain your capacity for reading and
understanding English. In order to facilitate the smooth processing of
your participation, please provide these details in a thorough, careful,
and timely manner.
(2) FLACSO requires information concerning presentations. Those
wishing to give a presentation should provide a title and one-page
abstract on a single and separate sheet. (Please submit the title and the
abstract in the language in which you intend to present).
(3) The U.S. government restricts the travel of U.S. persons
(citizens and permanent residents) to Cuba and requires U.S. persons to
possess a license to travel to Cuba. Travel licenses are issued to
persons conducting professional research and similar activities, and under
this category, licenses are issued for "attendance by professionals with
an established interest in Cuba at professional meetings where research on
Cuba is shared." Accordingly, the U.S. government requires a "statement
describing your established interest in Cuba" and a "curriculum vita or
resume." These should be forwarded to the Center for Development Studies.
Place the description on a separate sheet and attach to the front of the
vita. The past experience of CDS has been that the Treasury Department
does not require a strong background in Cuba, but simply wishes to ensure
that the person has a genuine academic interest in the conference and is
not inventing an interest in order to justify a trip to Cuba that is
really recreational. This is perhaps the import of the word
"established." So participants should describe those aspects of their
academic background which have led to their desire to participate in the
FLACSO conference and the CDS educational program. And discussion of both
the FLACSO conference and the CDS program is important.
The appropriate material should be sent by February 15 by U.S. mail
or fax to Charles McKelvey, Center for Development Studies, 210 Belmont
Stakes, Clinton, South Carolina 29325; fax 864-833-8481. The Center for
Development Studies will make consolidated applications for travel
licenses from the U.S. government and visas from the Cuban government on
March 1.
The Center for Development Studies does not have the resources to
make special arrangements for those who wish to introduce a variation in
the plan. Staying in a private home rather than the hotel in the package,
traveling for dates longer than those planned in the program, and bringing
spouses or other family members are variations which introduce enormous
bureaucratic and practical complications which CDS does not have the
resources to address. So we ask those who do not find the CDS package
feasible to develop their alternative plans on their own.
PAYMENT SCHEDULE
A $800 deposit in the form of a check payable to the Center for
Development Studies is due by March 22. The balance of $925 should be
paid either by check to the Center for Development Studies by May 3 or in
cash upon arrival in Havana. Payments made to the Center for Development
Studies will be refunded if the program is not held or if the participant
does not attend due to denial of travel license or visa, with the
exception of $50 paid by the Center for Development Studies to the Cuban
Interests Section in application for a visa. However, if the participant
withdraws from the program, the Center for Development Studies reserves
the right to not refund payments or to make partial refunds only,
depending on what financial commitments the Center for Development Studies
has made on the participant's behalf.
DATES TO REMEMBER
February 15 Informational material due at CDS
March 1 CDS makes consolidated applications for visas
and travel licenses
March 22 $800 deposit due at CDS (non-refundable if
program is held and license and
visa are granted)
April 10-May 15 Electronic discussion of reading
May 3 $925 balance due (for those opting to pay CDS by
check)
May 22 Travel to Havana
May 22 $925 balance due in cash in Havana (those
selecting this option)
May 23-May 31 CDS educational program in Havana
June 1-June 4 FLACSO symposium
June 5 Depart from Cuba
PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES
Saturday, May 22
Travel to Havana. Check into Hotel Colina, L and 27th Streets
Sunday, May 23
morning Panoramic tour of Havana
noon Lunch in Old Havana
afternoon Visit historic sites in Colonial Havana
Monday, May 24
9:00 am Conference: "The project of the Cuban
Revolution."
1:30 PM Conference: "The structure of popular power."
6:30 PM Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabana; dinner at
the fortress.
Tuesday, May 25
9:00 am Conference: "Mass organizations and the
functioning of popular power at the level of
the municipal assemby and the popular
council."
afternoon Visits to a municipal assembly and a popular
council.
evening Meeting in the community to meet with community
members and with representatives of mass
organizations and the popular council.
Wednesday, May 26
Visits focusing on the system of health in Cuba: psychiatric and
surgical hospitals, polyclinics, offices of family medicine,
and health-related research centers.
Thursday, May 27
9:00 am Conference: "Tendencies of Rural Development and
the Agricultural Sector."
afternoon Visits to an agricultural cooperative and rural
community, including a day-care center and
primary school.
Friday, May 28
9:00 am Conference: "Women in Cuba."
afternoon Visit to the Federacion de las Mujeres Cubanas
(FMC) or Federation of Cuban Women.
Presentation at FMC: "The role of women in the
Cuban revolutionary process and their gains."
Saturday, May 29
morning Visit to the Museum of the Revolution
noon Lunch in Old Havana
afternoon Visit to the Jose Marti Memorial in the Plaza of
the Revolution
Sunday, May 30
Free day
Monday, May 31
9:00 am Conference: "The causes of the crisis and the
policies of the 'special period.'"
1:30 PM Conference: "The effects of the crisis on social
development."
Tuesday through Friday, June 1 to June 4
FLACSO Conference
Saturday, June 5
Depart from Cuba
"Conference" refers to presentations by FLACSO faculty. The conferences
will take place at the University of Havana.
READINGS AND ELECTRONIC DISCUSSION SCHEDULE
On Saturday mornings from 9:00 to 11:00, April 10 through May 15,
there will be electronic discussion among the participants of reading on
the history of Cuba (4 sessions), the Cuban Revolution (1 session), and
the Cuban political process (1 session). A few days before each Saturday
morning session, participants will be sent a commentary on the reading.
During the Saturday morning session, participants are invited to
contribute their own commentaries on the readings and on the commentaries
of others. Anyone unable to participate in one or more of these sessions
"live" on Saturday morning would be able to review the discussion and
make commentaries, if desired, later in the week. In addition to these
six sessions, there will be readings on the "special period," which should
be read in preparation for the experience in Cuba.
The readings and schedule of electronic discussions are:
Louis A. Perez, Jr., {Cuba: Between Reform and Revolution}, 2nd edition
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1995)
Philip S. Foner, {A History of Cuba and its Relations with the United
States}, Vol. I (New York: International Publishers, 1962),
pp. 15-58, 200-228
Marifeli Perez-Stable, {The Cuban Revolution} (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1993), pp. 152-73
Arnold August, {Democracy in Cuba: The Elections of 1997-98} (Havana:
Editorial Jose Marti, forthcoming)
Jose Bell Lara and Richard A. Dello Buono, eds., "Interdisciplinary
Reflections on Development and Society: Essays on the Potential and
Contradictions of Cuban Development," {CartaCuba} (Havana:
FLACSO Programa Cuba, 1997).
April 10 Indigenous culture; the conquest; the 16th and 17th
century colony
Reading: Perez, pp. 3-48; Foner, pp. 15-38
April 17 The expansion of sugar and tobacco production in the 18th
and 19th centuries
Reading: Perez, 49-103; Foner, 38-58
April 24 Movements of Independence in the 19th Century
Reading: Perez 104-76; Foner, pp. 200-228
May 1 U.S. Intervention and the Republic
Reading: Perez, pp. 176-289
May 8 Revolution and Socialism in Cuba
Reading: Perez, pp. 290-381
May 15 The Structure and Process of Democracy in Cuba
Reading: August
Readings on the "special period" should be completed in preparation for
the group experience in Havana: Perez, pp. 381-406; Perez-Stable 152-176;
Bell Lara and Dello Buono
Participants will be responsible for obtaining in bookstores and
libraries the books by Perez, Foner, and Perez-Stable. Participants will
be provided information on how to obtain the August book and the CartaCuba
issue.
MAKING TRAVEL PLANS TO CUBA
Owing to the need the obtain licenses to travel to Cuba from the U.S.
Department of the Treasury, planning a trip to Cuba can be characterized
by uncertainties. Sometimes the licenses are not granted (although the
Center for Development Studies thus far has been completely successful in
this regard), and sometimes the licenses are not sent until the week prior
to departure. There also can be bureaucratic problems with obtaining
visas from the Cuban government. So it is best to make travel
arrangements on a contingency basis, reserving the airline tickets in a
way that does not require payment or that allows for refund. The great
majority of travel agents in the United States are not permitted by law to
sell tickets or provide information concerning travel to Cuba. One agency
that has permission to do so is Marazul Tours (800-223-5334; 201-319-9670;
fax 201-319-9009). For a list of authorized providers of travel services
to Cuba, call the automated fax service at the Office of Foreign Assets
Control at the U.S. Department of the Treasury (202-622-0077) and ask for
document number 1207. Other documents concerning U.S. travel restrictions
to Cuba can be obtained from the same automated fax service.
FLACSO
FLACSO has as it fundamental objective the promoting of the
development of the social sciences in Latin America, with particular
emphasis on social scientific study of the region. Established in 1988,
FLACSO Cuba conducts workshops and seminars on the Cuban and Latin
American reality. It is affiliated with the University of Havana and has
a faculty of ten in the social sciences and history.
THE CENTER FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
The Center for Development Studies is a non-profit organization
incorporated in the state of South Carolina on September 23, 1996. Its
objectives include increasing understanding of Central America and the
Caribbean by conducting travel seminars. In June 1997, CDS conducted its
inaugural project, when a group of eight faculty and graduate students in
the fields of sociology and political science from various colleges and
universities in the United States participated in a three-week travel
seminar and research project in Cuba, conducted jointly by CDS and FLACSO
Cuba. In July 1998, CDS, again in cooperation with FLACSO Cuba,
sponsored an experiential research seminar in Cuba. Entitled "The Cuban
Revolution: Surviving into the 21st Century," eight university and
college professors and graduate students in the social sciences, Romance
languages and literature from various universities and colleges in the
United States participated. In November, 1998, CDS organized a U.S.
delegation of participants in an International Symposium, 40 Aniversario
de la Revolucion en el Poder, sponsored by the Casa de Altos Estudios "Don
Fernando Ortiz," Universidad de la Habana, held in Havana, Cuba. Seven
professors and graduate students from various colleges and universities in
the United States representing the fields of history, Spanish, sociology,
library science, political science, and art history participated in the
program, which included two days of educational activities prior to the
symposium. The Center for Development Studies was established and is
directed by Charles McKelvey, Professor of Sociology, Presbyterian
College, Clinton, South Carolina.
Anyone wishing a hard copy of this communication should contact
Charles McKelvey, Center for Development Studies, 210 Belmont Stakes,
Clinton, South Carolina 29325; fax 864-833-8481; telephone 864-833-8385 or
864-833-1018.